


Mindful

by Daecus



Series: New Age [4]
Category: Transformers: Prime
Genre: Gen, New Age
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-30
Updated: 2013-07-30
Packaged: 2018-02-09 06:51:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1973055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daecus/pseuds/Daecus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Spoilers: If you haven't watched "Evolution" by now, you probably should.<br/>Honestly, it's been so long, I can't remember what happens. I think everyone hates that Jetstream has made a temporary alliance with the Autobots, especially Ultra Magnus.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mindful

        "Where is Jetstream, and why are you not currently scouting Grid 305 for Predacon bones?" demanded an edgy Ultra Magnus. The cyan commander had gotten more and more rigid lately due to their newest arrival, and the ex-Decepticon's absence only made Ultra Magnus even more so.

        "Jetstream's currently scouting Grid 305. He said he would go ahead before us," the green hulk known as Bulkhead responded. "Sir," he added.

        "You let him go alone? What if he finds any remains?" questioned Ultra Magnus, absolutely incredulous that anyone would trust the ex-'Con.

        "We've got a tracker and an audio recorder on him so he doesn't do anything that we won't know about, I’m pretty sure he can handle himself if something goes wrong, and we've just returned from serving Grids 301 to 304." Arcee reasoned. "He can do our work if he wants to. It's just one grid."

        "And don't you want him gone, anyways? If he does get caught in any trouble, wouldn't you want the 'Cons to get rid of him for you?" Wheeljack replied. He had just returned from outside the base without Ultra Magnus's permission. Ultra Magnus simply groaned. As much as he wanted the flyer out of the team, he could not disobey Optimus's orders.

        As Wheeljack's appearance added to list of things to nag about, Magnus said accusingly, "Soldier, I don't remember giving you permission to leave the base, and why are your hands smeared with coolant?"

        "You didn't, sir. I was just recalibrating your ship's engines. You can expect a ten percent increase in vector thrust," Wheeljack answered smugly, surprising Magnus.

        Just then, Optimus arrived from his scouting, to which everyone flocked in relief. They were getting tired of Ultra Magnus's oppressive military style. Optimus spoke, "Decepticon activity is at a lull. I fear that Megatron may have collected the specimens he requires to-" Optimus looked at his second-in-command to see him standing alone, away from the rest of the team, something noticeably wrong with his demeanor. "-clone his army," Optimus finished, worry setting in.

        Later, Optimus went to ask the commander what had gone amiss. Magnus responded, "I fear that my command style may be having an effect on unit morale."

        "Your service is most welcome, old friend, but this..." Optimus gestured at the group of Autobots huddled around a green computer screen. "...is not the elite guard."

        "Things have changed since the war for Cybertron," admitted Ultra Magnus, thinking about their recent addition to the group.

        "And, we must adapt to that change. The members of Team Prime are not cogs in a machine; although they differ in many ways, they have grown into something greater than an army. They have become-"

        "Optimus, our scanners have detected exposed energon," Ratchet noted. Sure enough, a yellow conical funnel appeared above a geometrically rendered map. At that instant, Jetstream landed before the base.

        Upon seeing both Ultra Magnus and Optimus Prime, the two individuals whom Jetstream secretly feared the most, he reported quickly and a bit more quietly. "Reporting in from scouting Grid 305, sirs. No Predacon bones or Decepticon activity detected."

        {Should we take the risk?}Bumblebee beeped, referring to the recent energon reading. The sudden commotion puzzled Jetstream, but he decided to keep quiet and figure out the circumstances for himself.

        Optimus thought for a few seconds before saying, "Although we may now have more than enough energon, it would not hurt to stock up for when times are thin." Everyone agreed.

        Just when Jetstream was about to follow the Autobots on their excursion, Ratchet piped up. "Ep, ep. Not you. You're staying for a medical examination."

        "A-aye, Docbot." Jet complied with said orders while the others went off to scout the energon reading. Jet walked over to the doctor’s table, unsure what he had in mind.

        "So, how were you able to transfer your location to your ship even though this base jams all signals?" Ratchet asked accusingly.

        So that was what this was about… Jetstream spoke cautiously. "Same way you can maintain communications with team members outside the base."

        Ratchet found the apparatus he had been looking for and faced Jetstream. He attached several patches to Jetstream and ordered, "Transform." Jet only did as told without making much talk while Ratchet recorded his findings with equal taciturnity. Jet made it through most of the exam before Ratchet said, "I'm going to test your vision. You'll have to open your visor for me to observe your optic reactions."

        Jetstream paused for a moment before quietly asking, "Can we skip?"

        Ratchet replied remorselessly, "No." Jetstream only kept his visor locked in place. The irascible doctor growled, "Quit pussyfooting and open your fragging visor. The sooner you do it, the faster we can get this done."

        At that, Jetstream quickly did as told once more. Ratchet grumbled as he pulled out a flashlight, but something suddenly stopped him as he viewed the new crew member’s face. "Well, I certainly haven't seen this in a while," he tried to say lightly, but Jetstream only looked down and kept quiet. "Why didn't you tell me that you're a heat-seeker?" Cybertronians who saw through heat emissions like Jetstream were called heat-seekers. They proved adept in situations where the enemy hid from sight, but it proved to be a double-edged ability; heat-seekers could not read printed words well and tripped over objects frequently.

        "Guess I forgot..." Jet muttered with his optics still down, but his reasons could not have been clearer. Cybertronians ostracized heat-seekers due to the unsettling patterns lying in their optics which creeped people out. The optic concentrics seemed to "tunnel into one's mind."

        Ratchet tried to assume a less aggressive tone to make up for his earlier actions. "I want you to follow the light with your optics, okay?" Jetstream did not respond and only silently complied. They finished the last portion of the exam in silence before Jet closed his visor once more.

        "Thanks, sir," Jet said in a flat tone. He started to walk away to the furthest corner but stopped. Without looking back, he added, “For saving me.” Ratchet opened his mouth to say something, but Arcee and Bumblebee walked in through a ground bridge with two carts loaded with energon crystals. "I'll get to refining," Jet said quickly.

        Ratchet did not want to leave things on such a bad note, but he had to turn his attention to the matter at hand. "Where's Optimus?"

        Smokescreen and Bulkhead entered as Ratchet posed the question, to which Bulkhead replied, "He went to go check on Jackie and the commander."

        Jetstream subconsciously wondered what could possibly be stalling the others. There were no worries; he had not developed a close enough relationship with the team to worry about them too deeply. The wonder came from curiosity, the thirst for information, not from care. He felt repulsed by his inner feelings as he heated the crystal samples, but what could he do? He had not had any social connections since... Primus, he could not even remember the last time he had interacted with anyone on a non-professional basis.

        "No, no. You're doing it wrong," complained an agitated Ratchet. Jet stepped aside without retort, even though he had been experimenting with refinement over the past few decacycles and perfected an efficient method. As Ratchet took the work into his own hands, Jet thought back to his past.

        _I wonder if it'll all come back to the same thing,_ thought Jetstream as he recalled painful memories, back in his days of serving the Autobots in the War for Cybertron.

        "There. Do it like that next time." Ratchet turned and left Jetstream, mumbling to himself about the new recruit being useless. Jet simply shrugged it off, transferred Ratchet's energon sample to a cube, and started on a new sample, performing the energon purification his own way while Ratchet was not looking. It grew easier as Ratchet became increasingly occupied with whatever was happening on the other side.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        Ultra Magnus and Wheeljack crept steadily along the mine’s walls after they had split up from Smokescreen and Bulkhead. They eventually arrived at the entrance of a large, spacious cavern. Within stood two rows of cylindrical containers, each housing yellow nutrient fluid and its own Predacon. The unaware scientist, named Shockwave, tapped at a control panel. The commander and Wheeljack wasted no time in taking advantage of their element of surprise.

        Shockwave, obviously at an adverse tactical situation, fled through a ground bridge but not before deactivating the Predacons’ stasis sleep. Slowly, the glowing saffron fluid drained form each container, and each Predacon awoke from its slumber.

        “Permission to employ a grenade in a confined space, sir?” asked Wheeljack wryly. On an earlier mission, Commander Magnus had harped on him for throwing a live grenade within a cavern much like the one they were in now.

        “If you and I are all that stand between these monsters and the natives of this planet, then by all means, blow these beasts back to the Rust Age,” Magnus consented. Wheeljack activated the timer for his grenade, tossed the bomb across the room, and made a break for the exit. After transforming into their Vehicular Modes, Wheeljack and Magnus made a mad dash away from the soon-to-be Predacon graveyard.

        Suddenly, they heard a screech. Then, several more joined the chorus. The commander and Wheeljack skidded to a halt once a green portal opened up before them, blocking their way out. A large Cybertronian whom they had never seen before (or so they thought) emerged from the ground bridge.

        Finally, the grenade exploded, sending a resounding blast and an enormous heat wave through the cave. The maroon metal giant roared, “What have you done?!”

        Wheeljack and the commander looked at the giant’s chest before recognizing the insignia marked in the center. “It’s the Predacon,” Wheeljack said, referring to the metal dragon that had hunted them in previous missions.

        Filled with unbridled rage, the Predacon in Mech Mode attacked the two perpetrators with the fury of bloodlust. The Autobots quickly leaped out of the way before sustaining critical damage. Magnus brandished the Forge of Solus Prime, a large hammer that had lost its ability to create, and swung it, hitting its target multiple times before Wheeljack followed up with a few blasts from his guns. The Predacon retaliated by attacking them one at a time, giving them both a thorough bruising.

        However, two proved superior to one as Wheeljack and his commanding officer teamed up and bested their formidable enemy. Ultra Magnus was about to perform the finishing blow, but a black blur slammed into him before he could. Wheeljack shot at the fast-moving target, but he missed each time. Once Wheeljack thought he finally had a clear shot, something rammed his arm and made him miss. Wheeljack raised his arm painfully to see that a spike had lodged itself in his arm. He looked towards where the projectile had originated and saw a congregation of angry Predacons, some missing limbs and leaking energon.

        Scrap. His grenade had not done its job. Wheeljack attempted to warn Ultra Magnus but was cut down by the original Predacon, who pressed his foot on the white Wrecker before announcing, “Fellow Predacons! Brothers! These Autobots have attempted to extinguish our kind! Follow me as your Predaking and we shall punish them as they have tried to do to us!” The damaged Predacons screeched their approval and flocked around their new Predaking.

        Ultra Magnus attempted to help his comrade, but the Predaking himself blocked him from doing so and broke Magnus’s hammer. He then stepped on the commander’s hand, severing the appendage painfully. Ultra Magnus burst out in agony as he watched the other Predacons close in on Wheeljack, blocking his view of the ‘Bot.

        Just before the Wrecker disappeared from sight, Wheeljack said, “And I was just beginning to tolerate ya.” He smiled bitterly.

Right when the two Autobots were sure that they were done for, the noise of thrusters broke through the Predacons’ indecipherable chatter. Optimus Prime flew into view, taking out his Gatling gun and pouring energy bullets down on the surprised Predacons, taking down a few as he did. The Predaking’s underlings scattered in a matter of seconds as Optimus took advantage of the chaos to swoop down and retrieve his injured teammates before making his escape.

        The Predaking attempted to make order out of the confusion but quickly dropped the idea and focused on chasing down his prey. Optimus narrowly dodged a flaming breath of fire and flew into the safety of Ratchet’s ground bridge.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        Finally, Optimus Prime flew in, carrying Wheeljack and a blacked out Ultra Magnus. Jetstream turned to note the full details but did not follow the flock of Autobots gathering near Magnus. He kept his distance, which did not go unnoticed by Optimus Prime, even though the leader's attention focused more on his second-in-command. Optimus decided to address Jet’s anti-social conduct later.

        "Jetstream, please look within your ship and search for any supplies we could use to aid Ultra Magnus's recovery."

        "Aye, sir," Jet responded as he activated the space bridge to the Spirit. He doubted that there would be anything of any use, but orders were orders. He scrounged around the Spirit's med bay and took everything he could find. He returned and placed the materials near Ratchet and backed away.

        “He has a ship?” Arcee whispered to Bumblebee.

        {Why are we still staying here, then?} wondered Bumblebee.

        As Ultra Magnus awoke, he peered at his missing right hand and groaned. Optimus stepped forward to comfort his underling. "Ratchet will take good care of you.”

        A noticeably affected Wheeljack sat rubbing his arm, deep in thought of today’s events. He said with a hint of pride, "Magnus fought like a Wrecker," acknowledging the respect he held for his commander.

        Magnus addressed Optimus Prime. "Optimus, when we spoke earlier… what could we greater than an army?"

        Optimus's face softened as he explained, "A human concept, one I have learned since coming to Earth... Family."

        Family.

        The word struck a chord that Jetstream never thought he had had within him. As he watched the concerned Autobots gather even more tightly around Ultra Magnus, something about the word made him sad, almost regretful, as if he had lost something irreplaceable. But… Why?

        The word made him... jealous? But he had always lived alone and had been fine…

        He shook it off as he returned to his work on refining the energon. He resolved to never think about those kinds of useless things, again, but he could not help it; his mind wandered, and when it did, it always ended up in a dead spot, not being able to recall events that would have proven crucial in answering particular questions, and then the pondering would start all over, again.

Jetstream tried to focus on his tasks, but his innate hunger for information pulled him back to the holes in his memory banks. The hunger wanted more. Why? What was so important? What could have caused these feelings to bubble up at the mere mention of a single word? What was amiss?

        Family. The one word required a dissertation on explanations, neither of which Jetstream felt he could ever have.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        Raf, Jack, and Miko looked on as Ratchet constructed a spare hand for Ultra Magnus. Despite a lack of attachment, Jetstream felt sorry for the commander.

        Finally, Ratchet finished and said, "I've done everything I can. Although his hand may look the same as before, it will require some therapy before it will be fit for battle."

        "Thank you, old friend," Optimus said.

        Arcee asked Wheeljack, "You doing okay?"

        "Yeah, glad the new recruit came through for us," Wheeljack said, gesturing to Jetstream, who only looked down out of embarrassment for the unwanted attention.

        "True. If Jetstream hadn't had the necessary spare parts, then Magnus would be worse off," Ratchet agreed. This made everyone look at the ex-'Con, who tried to back away into the darkest corner he could find and avoid eye contact.

        "And," Bulkhead said, taking everyone's attention off of the shy flyer. "Commander Magnus and Jackie single-handedly thinned out those numbers from Project Predacon."

        "There is also one crucial fact that we must address,” Optimus added. “We must also be on the lookout for the Predacon that has shown the ability to transform.” Although Jetstream had never seen this beast that Optimus mentioned, he grew increasingly interested in it. What were its weaknesses? How did its structure assist in combat? What were its dimensions?

        Agent Fowler's voice interrupted Jet's thoughts. "Prime, it's 'Cons, again. Looks like we’re not the only ones with newbies."

        Ratchet acknowledged, "Coordinates received, Agent Fowler," and opened the ground bridge to said coordinates.

        "Let's roll," Magnus started, but Ratchet held his hand up.

        "Ep, ep. Your ability to roll remains predicated upon further exploration of your manual dexterity." At this, Magnus attempted to clench his fist, but failed to do so smoothly.

        "I'm afraid that Ratchet's authority supersedes my own in medical matters," Optimus put in.

        Ultra Magnus sighed. "Understood." Jetstream stole a quick glance at Wheeljack to see a look of a mixture of guilt and empathy on the Wrecker's face. Jetstream deemed it wise not to ask to go on this mission, even though he itched to analyze those Predacons.

        Wait. What? Was he actually being polite for these 'Bots? Yet, his decision still stood. Strange. Jetstream turned and focused on the formula for synthetic energon he had stolen from Ratchet's computer terminal while the doctor worked on Ultra Magnus.

        "Not going?" Jetstream heard the quiet murmur from Ratchet and quickly switched the screens on his data pad. He hoped that the doctor had not seen the energon protein structures as shook his head. "Good," he heard, and a hand brushed against Jet's shoulder. With Ratchet's attention on Commander Magnus, Jetstream resumed his work, wondering whether the physical contact had been intentional or accidental.

        "Watcha workin' on?" piped up a female voice. Jetstream turned to the human named Miko.

        "Modeling for camouflaging panels, calibrations, scanner efficacy, minor programming…" Jet rattled, hoping to bore the kid, but she changed the topic once she figured that the conversation would lead to nowhere interesting.

        "So, what's it like being an ex-'Con?"

        "Risky," he said curtly. He had not intended to come across as rude, but he naturally could not talk to new acquaintances so easily.

        "What's your face look like?"

        "Disconcerting."

        "Why did you leave the Decepticons?" another human, nicknamed Raf, asked him.

        "Demoralizing."

        “Then why did you join them?” Raf continued.

        “Friends.”

        “You have friends?” Miko asked incredulously, judging by Jetstream’s current conversation style.

        “Not anymore.”

        "How was it being a spy?" Miko tried changing the topic, but Jet just shifted his weight a little.

        Miko decided to kick it up a notch, either not noticing or caring about Jetstream’s discomfort for conversation. "Did you have a bunch of gadgets? Were you ever captured? Did you have a special someone?" Miko added the last question with a sly tone.

        "Yes, yes, no." Jetstream secretly enjoyed Miko’s apparent frustration as she grew tired of the one-sided conversation. She turned her attention to something else much more intriguing than him. Jetstream actually wanted to reveal more, but he told himself not to get too attached to Team Prime. The Autobots would only let him down, like the last time he had trusted their kind. Plus, non-professional chats were not really his forte.

        Who needed small talk anyways? He started to miss the solo days, when there were no noisy kids interrogating him about everything and interrupting his work.

        “I don’t think there’s any hope in holding a conversation with him, Miko. You’d have better luck talking to a scraplet,” Ratchet jested. Miko groaned as Jet chuckled. The chances of it being true were about ninety-six percent.


End file.
